Greetings;
True authority is the power of “exousia”. Authority is the real thing! It is what it is! To have authority we must carry the spirit of authority. All authority comes from God and we must become the substance of God’s authority to manifest God’s life-giving authority in the earth. Authority must be received and its source is found in the Spirit of God.
Genesis 25:19-28 This is the genealogy of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham begot Isaac. Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I this way?” So she went to inquire of the LORD. And the LORD said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger. So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau. Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Jacob was called to be above his brother Esau from birth. In the natural Esau had the birthright, but according to the Spirit of God Jacob had the destiny. Jacob had to become naturally what he was destined to be in the Spirit. He had to get the natural birthright that matched the birthright of the Spirit given to him by God before he was formed in his mother’s womb. All authority comes from birthright. In the womb God said Jacob had it, but in the natural Esau had it. Jacob had the call of God, but no natural ability to fulfill it. To become what he was destined to be required a heavenly change in his earthly circumstance. To become what we are called to be requires a heavenly change in our earthly circumstances. We have a birthright in God, but many are called and only a few are chosen.
Genesis 25:29-34 Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called Edom. But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.” And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so what profit shall this birthright be to me?” Then Jacob said, “Swear to me as of this day.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
Jacob obtained the birthright by purchasing it from Esau. Why did he want the birthright? Remember, authority always initiates in God. Because he was called to have the birthright it was a good thing in him that wanted it. He was created to be the firstborn, but he didn’t come out first. He was created to have the older serve him, but he was the younger. He was created to carry on his father’s inheritance, but his brother had the right to the inheritance. In him was a frustration, because he was created to be the firstborn, but he wasn’t first. He knew that he was called. He just didn’t know how to get the birthright. Was it God’s will for Jacob to cheat for the birthright? Did Jacob really cheat to get the birthright? Did Jacob seek the birthright for his own glory or did he seek it for the destiny of Israel? Did Jacob take the birthright or did Esau despise it? I believe that Esau despised it. One good thing that Jacob had was that he had within him an understanding of the value of the birthright. God was able to redeem the situation because Jacob’s heart was for life. God was able to change his name to become the inheritor of the promise of God from heaven.
Jacob had to become a son of the seed of promise. The blessing didn’t come from Isaac, but from the God of Isaac. Jacob didn’t have the inheritance; he had to look for it. He recognized an opportunity where the birthright could be received. I don’t believe that Jacob sought the birthright for his own greed. I believe that destiny within him called to his heart to seek it for the sake of the future generations of Israel. Jacob’s actions could be considered questionable, but what Esau did was worse than what Jacob did. He despised the birthright. Esau sold his source of authority for a bowl of stew. His interests were only for himself. Authority is not given for our own personal gain. Authority is a source of life given for others. Esau didn’t value the authority of the birthright because he lived for himself and not for the sake of others. He willingly sold what belonged to others for the sake of feeding his own flesh. We can sell our authority for anything that is not ours in God if we think that what has been given to us is for us and not for those beyond our lives. What do we have that is ours that we don’t want? We can lose what we have by despising who we are.
What is yours in the flesh is not yours at all. Esau had the birthright in the flesh, but he had no understanding of the birthright in the spirit. He had no understanding of the purpose of inheritance and authority. Authority is found in God. It is possible to sell your birthright for our own ways. Are we in the place of our birthright? Without birthright we cannot have the blessing of inheritance. Inheritance is a testimony of authority given for the life of others.
Hebrews 12:15-17 …looking diligently lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.
Once Esau sold the birthright to Jacob, the right for the blessing of the inheritance belonged to Jacob. Jacob had the birthright for the blessing so when he put the on the goatskins to emulate the feel of his brother, he put on the clothing of the touch and the smell of the substance of the firstborn. He had the right to wear the clothing that would make him feel like he was the firstborn in the natural. Esau had sold it to him. Once Esau realized what had happened he wanted his father Isaac to give him the blessing, but it was too late. The issue was relationship, not gifting. Esau wanted to repent, but God couldn’t grant it. What he wanted didn’t exist anymore. The blessing of the inheritance had been given to Jacob, because Jacob owned the natural right to the inheritance.
The inheritance didn’t belong to Jacob in the flesh; it belonged to Israel. There had to be a spiritual change for Jacob to be the full substance of the inheritance. Jacob had to eventually return home to face his fear of the natural firstborn son, Esau. On his journey home he had an encounter with God that changed his life forever. The sound of God came into his name as God made him weak in the flesh for the strength of God’s Spirit. God had called Jacob from the very beginning, but in the natural he was not it. Jacob stole the deed from Esau just like Satan stole the deed from Adam. The good news is that God came to kill deceitfulness when He wrestled with Jacob. God killed the flesh and what happened that day was a resurrection. Jacob longed to fulfill his destiny, but authority initiates in God. Jacob couldn’t just have the natural birthright for the inheritance. He had to also have the birthright of the Spirit. He had to be transformed from being a “heal grabber” to being a “prince with God”, a full possessor of the authority of inheritance from God.
Even when it comes to our general inheritance in Christ, our birthright in the natural had to be transformed to a birthright of the spirit. When Christ died for sinners he made a way for sinners to put on the skin of the firstborn in the eyes of the Father, but to carry the full testimony of authority we must also experience a transformation in our character, nature, way, power, and authority. Adam lost the birthright by trading it to Satan. Jesus took it back. That authority is not just an authority to get us into heaven when we die, but a right for the transformation of the Spirit to bring heaven into the earthly circumstances of our lives. Authority is the substance of life and it comes by the Spirit.
Food For Thought,
Ted J. Hanson
